Literary Theory and Criticism-Assignment

Assignment

Ecocriticism: Folklore and Indian Fiction

Name: Asha R. Dhedhi

Roll no: 02 (Two)

Semester: 02 (Part-1)

Year: 2019-2020

Paper No.: 7

Paper: Literary Theory and Criticism

Topic: Ecocriticism and Indian Fiction

Enrollment No: 2069108420200010

Email ID: ashadhedhi1806@gmail.com

Submitted to: Smt. S.B.Gardi

                        Department of English

                                   (MKBU)

Introduction

 "The poetry of earth is never dead"

This quote by John Keats is worth remembering because Nature is the mother of human beings. From ancient times to the present era nature is at the center of every art created by Human beings. Poet dies when death comes, influence of a particular genre also changes with time passes and also it is modified and developed overtime. Writing style also changes with time, and literary trends also change as culture changes with time. But what remains constant is Poetry on earth, poetry on nature and human connection with nature is unbreakable.  Earth, which is Immortal, has experienced everything, it is witness of change, it is witness of ages, it is witness of the emergence of culture and how it is dying with time, and it is a witness of all disasters. The connection between Human world and Nature is very deep. According to Indian Vedas Human body is made up of five elements and after death our body merged in that five elements called (પંચમહાભૂત)...

• Sky

• Earth

• Fire

• Water

• Air

Many factors are responsible for human development and their existence and among them Nature is at center. This indicates that human relationship with nature is from birth. And Human beings also use nature to escape from reality. Whenever you feel tired you rush into the lap of nature to get peace. So, In literature also we can see the portrayal of nature. It can be positive as well negative. But feelings towards nature are highlighted by the author, poet or any writer. So, From these deep connections between nature and the human world, a new theorist started analysing it and there is the emergence of a New term called Ecocriticism.

So, Ecocriticism is a type of criticism which checks the connection of Human world with the physical world and How writers time and again use it to highlight nature in their work. Ecocriticism is an "Earth Centered Approach" which figures out the complex interconnection between environment and culture. According to Cheryll Glotfelty stated that….

" Human culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by it."

Above mentioned statement emphasizes that the roots of human culture are in nature so we can't separate human life from nature. Human life is affected by nature and it also has a great influence on nature. Andw Ecocriticism tries to analyze and interpret the mingalation between both.

What is Ecocriticism?

Studying literature is a kind of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary study. Interdisciplinary study became the hallmark in research also. It provides diversity and variety to exemplify single things with different angles. Interdisciplinary study tries to find the interconnection between different approaches, ideologies, different sciences and different subjects and also tries to apply different theories and approaches.  So Literature becomes a mall where every different method is applicable.

Literature and Literary Criticism is an interdisciplinary study which adapts different theories and approaches from different fields and tries to apply it to literature to analyse or to interpret literary trends. When we separate the word-  Eco means related to environment or nature or criticism is a wide term which is obviously connected with literature. So, Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and Environment. How time and again nature interferes in literature with different perspectives, and how environmental issues and nature reflected in literature is the prime-focus of Ecocriticism. 

Ecocriticism is the study of literature and the environment from an interdisciplinary point of view. Literature Scholars and intellectuals analyzed the text through use of environment and natural elements used in texts.So, Ecocriticism is a field in which critics try to examine how literature treats the different subjects of nature. There are also several other names for Ecocriticism….

• Environmental Literary Criticism

• Green Studies

• Ecopoetics

• Environmentalism

Etymology and Definition of Ecocriticism

Ecocriticism in a simple word is an observation which studies the relationship between literature means a fictional world with the earth's environment means the physical world. It analyses the work of an author, writer or any poet in the context of the environment. It also put emphasis on manifestation of issues related to nature in literature. Ecocriticism field emerged in the 1980s on the shoulders of the 'Environmental Movement' which began in1960s with the publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring."  The book tries to document the reverse effect of use of excessive pesticides. It highlighted the negative effect of pesticides on environment and nature and through that the health of Living beings is also affected. The impact of Carson's work is very deep….

"Rachel Carson's Silent Spring played a large role in articulating ecology as a 'subversive subject' - as a perspective that cuts against the grain of materialism, scientism, and the technologically engineered control of nature."

The term Ecocriticism is first coined by William Rueckert in his essay called "Literature and Ecology:An experiment in Ecocriticism." It can be simply defined as an application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature. But the word came in limelight after 1989 Western Literature Association meeting, in which Cherryl Glotfelty suggested to use the term Ecocriticism for the ''study of nature writing'' Cherryl's call for Ecocriticism is further immediately expanded by Glen Love in his speech entitled with "Revaluing Nature: Toward an Ecological Literary Criticism." After that the usage of the term Ecocriticism increased slowly and steadily. Let's see some definitions of Ecocriticism by great scholars…

"Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment"
- Cherryl Glotfelty(pp108)

"Ecocriticism as a study of the relationship between literature and the environment conducted in a spirit of commitment to environmentalist praxis."
- Lawrence Buell

Ecocriticism as Literary Theory

Generally in literature we use conventional theories which are from linguistics, Social studies, psychology etc. But ecology as theory is a new approach to explore dimensions. The world in which we live is not only made up of social or linguistic elements there is also a great part of nature from which we are affected. So, it is becoming necessary to study Literature and Nature in an organized way. Use of Environment and  Nature in literature is a common thing but there is no systematic method to criticize it. But Ecocriticism is the first systematic theory which studies the correlation between Human world and Nature. 

Nature is the main factor behind human existence and time and again it comes in literature with various interpretations. So, Ecocritic considered nature as the dominant factor, because evaluation of society is dependent on the forces of nature. So as literary theory here are some of the functions of Ecocriticism…

• Ecocriticism guides us to evaluate the world around us and critiquing the mannerisms of society in treatment to nature.
• This theory helps in analysing any text with reference to the portrayal of nature in it.
• It studies the representation of nature and natural elements in literature.

What do Ecocritics do?

“The ecocentric reading, by contrast, focuses outside, on the house and its environs, rather than the inside, on the owner and his psychology.”
- Peter Berry 

• Ecocritic read and reread literary work and tried to find traces of the representation of nature in it.
• Ecocritic reads literature from an ecocentric  perspective.
• Ecocriticism also praises the author who emphasizes more on nature in their work.
• Ecocritic try to find how human activities harm the ecological balance.
• Ecocriticism tries to find the treatment of nature in literary work by great writers, poets and authors. For Example

Wordsworth Treat nature as the best Teacher. His work "Prelude" demonstrate the role of nature in upbringing of a person

Thomas Hardy's novels such as 'Far from the Madding Crowd' and 'Under the Greenwood Tree' are also known as Wessex novels. His novels are set in the lap of nature, and Nature as a central idea. Most of the characters in his novels grow with nature, mature with nature and also die with nature.

Ecocriticism in Folklore

Folklore is an oral tradition which transfers songs, tales, anecdotes from generation to generation. Folklore is an artifact of Verbal Art and similarly literature is also verbal Art,and story which flows generation to generation in verbal form also placed in literature. So, folklore and literature are deeply connected. We can see the emergence of Folklore is always based on natural elements like trees, water are considered as Deities or God.

Folklore and Sacred Groves

Trees are an economical element which helps to make our environment clean and full with fresh air. So plants are connected with divinities and Sacred Grove in Myths, legends and in folklore. Representation of such plants as God leads people towards the idea of saving trees. So, in Folklore mostly trees are treated as the form of God. Through this we can find that our folklores are deeply connected with nature.

Folkloric Belief in Holy Water

Another element water also has a major role to play in folklore. According to Indian Mythology Rivers are considered as 'Mata' (mother) because it provides water which is our basic necessity for survival. When water is found in the desert or on a dried landscape seen as a precious gift of god. People used to praise that place and give that place status as it belongs to god. Several wells and springs are also considered magical. The folk belief on Holy water and Holy wells can also be found in literature. For example J.M.Synge's plays..

• Riders to the Sea
• The Well of the saints

So, This is how the environmental elements are used in folklore to show the role of nature in human life.

Ecocriticism on The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga

Arvind Adiga's The White Tiger won the Man Booker Prize in 2008. Which highlighted the issues of Class struggle, Violence and Immortality. 

Throughout the novel the author  expressed his concern towards the growing pollution in the Holy River Ganga. Ganga is the Holy river for Hindu community and they used its water for many rituals. The Sacred river Ganga is also called with several names such as...Mother Ganga, Daughter of Vedas, River of Illumination,Protector, Breaker of the chain of birth and rebirth. But here the narrator called Ganga as Black River and River of Death. There is one statement in the novel…

“India is two countries in one: an India of 

Light, and an India of Darkness. The ocean brings light to my country. Every place on the map of India near the 

the ocean is well off. But the river brings darkness to India - the black river.”

So, in his novel Arvind Adiga tries to point out that the holy river Ganga which is worshipped as goddess is polluted because of Industrial waste, our Religious rituals to throw ashes and bones in holy water and half burned bodies also polluting the water of Ganga. So by depicting the environmental elements and trying to bring awareness in society he depicts river Ganga as Black River, and because of its Ecological concern the novel can be evaluated through the lens of Ecocriticism.

Some Other Examples

So Many Hungers by Bhabani Bhattachrya focuses on the Human dependency over nature. And Whenever humans try to harm nature it hits back. So Natural Disaster is part of that.

The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. In this novel she tries to explain how selfish humans exploit nature and its beauty for the sake of their own progress and development. Here, we can see the glimpse of Modernism and Industrial Revolution by cutting down forest and degradation of nature.

No Room for Leopard by Ruskin Bond presents the pathetic condition of animals because of Deforestation. In the name of Progress and Development we cut the forest and because of that the living place of animals is also ruined by Human beings for their own profit. So, Ruskin bond highlights the sad condition of animals in this book very interestingly.

Raja Rao is one of the prominent writers in Indian English novels. Through his novel he tries to show the interconnection between humans and the Environment with minute observation. He mostly used the settings in South Indian Villages and portrayed the realistic relationship between Human and Nature. One of the best examples is Kanthapura.

Conclusion

To sum up it can be said that writing is not only for entertainment or to get aesthetic delight from it. It also shows directly or indirectly the social issues as well as ecological crisis. And Ecocriticism tries to evaluate the work on the basis of the representation of nature in work of art. Intention of Ecocritical is to spread awareness about the Environment, by studying the relationship between Human world and the physical world. Ecocriticism also views literature from the ecological point of view and tries to find how time and again people use to articulate nature in literature.

Work Cited

• Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger: A Novel. Free Press, New York: 2008.
• Buell, Lawrence. The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: Harvard University Press, 1995.
• Gary Kroll, "Rachel Carson-Silent Spring, Wayback Machine: A Brief History of Ecology as a Subversive Subject." National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
• Gerrard, Greg. Ecocriticism:The New Critical Idioms. Routledge, 2004.
• Glotfelty, Cheryll, and Harold Fromm. The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. The University of Georgia Press, 1996.
• K., Sufina, and Bhuvaneswari R. “Ecocriticism in Indian Fiction.” IUP Journal of English Studies, vol. 13, no. 1, Mar. 2018, https://www.questia.com/library/p439504/iup-journal-of-english-studies.
• Kumar, Dr. Manoj. “Ecocriticism and World Literature.” H-Announce, 30 Mar. 2017.
• Mishra, Alok. EcoCriticism Theory in Literature: Introduction & Analysis. 26 Nov. 2016, 
• Mishra, Dr. Sandip. “Ecocriticism In IndianWriting In English.” Academia.edu, www.academia.edu/21625425/Ecocriticism_in_Indian_Writing. 
• Priya, Dr.S.Shanmuga. “ECOCRITICISM OF ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER.” International Journal of Advanced Research in Science and Engineering, vol. 7, no. 02, Jan. 2018, pp. 394–398.
• Shikha, Kumari. “Ecocriticism in Indian Fiction.” IRWLE, vol. 7, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 1–11.
• Thangaraj, K., and Dr.M.H.Mohamed Rafiq. “Environmental Issues in Booker Winning Indian English Novels.” Research Journal of English Language and Literature, vol. 2, no. 2, 30 June 2014, pp. 217–222., https://www.academia.edu/18808488/Environmental_Issues_in_Booker_Winning_Indian_English_Novels.

Thank You....